dmc79

Thanks. I guess it's not a Levy's then. On closer inspection, there is a very faint 'Liberty' at the top of the adjuster end. So faint that I've never even noticed it until now. So I guess that is the brand. Cheers for the recommendations. I've been looking mainly at straps based on their width, but only just realised that the length is important too. I've never thought about it before, because mine is adjustable enough for what I need. I've never even measured it until now. It adjust from 51" to 59". But looking at what's out there, it seems that many standard straps only go to a maximum of 52", so length will be a deciding factor for sure. My usual length is 57", but I lowered it one rung on the ladder adjuster last weekend and liked that at 58". Otherwise I've barely ever adjusted it on the ladder, but on the rare occasion I'd want to try it a tad higher, I'd just put the middle hole (of 3) over the lower strap button (usually hang it from the bottom hole) instead of adjusting the ladder. So, I'll need to avoid any strap that maxes out at a length too short for my liking. This will rule out the Leathergraft (max 52") and Lekato (max 55"). I think I'll end up with one of the Levy's XL straps, which adjust up to 64". More length than I'll ever need, but they certainly won't be too short. These look to be around £60, which I don't mind as I'm sure they will last a very long time.

Just wondering if anyone can ID my strap. I bought it from a guitar shop perhaps 10-15 years ago as an upgrade from whatever cheap basic thin 2” webbed strap I was using at the time. I suspect it is a Levy’s, but after lots of searching I can’t see that winged ‘L’ logo anywhere online, though I guess it could be an old one of theirs. On the adjusting piece, it says #299 and ‘Made in Canada.’ The ends of the strap are leather, I’m not sure what the main middle part is made of (could also be leather, just a different colour / grade), but it has some padding, and there is suede backing on the whole of the underside. Whilst I guess it doesn’t matter that much, I’d still like to know what it is, if anyone is able to ID or say whether that is a logo that Levy’s have ever used. This strap serves me well, but I’ve read that wider / more substantial straps can help in fending off shoulder / neck / back pain. For this reason I’m looking into getting a slightly wider strap. This is just under 2.5” wide, so I may try a 3” or 3.5” next time. I play a sub 4Kg P bass, so guess that anything wider than that would be overkill and too cumbersome. I like the look of some of the Levy’s straps, but am interested in recommendations. I’ll probably go for leather top & suede backing again. Will most likely go for black. I’d stretch to around £50, so not interested in boutique type stuff for double that price. Thanks

Further to my previous posts here, I'm really liking the Herco Vintage 66 'Light' (Gold) picks. Whilst it says 'light', it's actually more medium gauge. I checked it with digital calipers, because as I've mentioned before there's not much info online about the thickness of the various Herco picks, which is a shame. It comes out as .81, which is perfectly in what seems to be my 'goldilocks zone', as the standard Dunlop gauge of .73 always feels a bit too thin, and their .88 a bit too thick. The Herco is not so thick that it feels like hard work, but not thin enough to feel flappy. There's a certain 'authority' of it striking the string, yet with that slight flex which gives a nice compressive effect. I've tried the yellow Dunlop Midi .80, and whilst it's ok, I prefer the sound of the Herco. There's just a bit more character in the tone, the Midi is just a bit more warm sounding. It seems quite rare to find picks that are around .80, and whilst I'm curious as to what else is out there, I'm very pleased with the Herco. I may try Claytons sometime, as they do a .80. Until I change my mind, I've found my new favourite pick.

I’d be first in line to try some Snarling Dogs Brain picks & offer something in return. I know I’ve mentioned it before, but you can only get them in tins of 12, which is really annoying. Don’t fancy paying £36 to get 3 tins of these just to try one of each

I know these things don’t break the bank, but I have a small tin full of these and would’ve happily sent you a few. I bought some after discovering that Simon Gallup uses them. I have to accept though that I can never be him, and I rarely touch these ones. I bet many of us have a whole bunch of picks from when we bought too many of one hoping it would work, only to find we didn’t warm to them. We should run some kind of swap shop, I’m sure a few times I’ve ordered 3, or even 6, of a pick, then ended up not using them. It seems silly for us all to have loads of them sat about, when there’s others we’d like to try that people also have sat around.

Yeah it’s crazy, I mean I think I figured out whilst I was waiting for my Flex 75 heavies to arrive, that they were thicker than that. The second I picked one up for the first time, I knew just by how comparatively flappy a Dunlop nylon .73 is, that there was no way the Herco was actually .75 thick. I do like them though, really nice grip on them, they feel firm but still with a little flex, and not mega stiff like a Tortex of .88 and up.

I've been trying to unravel the mystery of the actual thicknesses of the various Herco picks. I mistakenly thought the numbers on them were the thickness, but it seems that bizarrely, the '75' and '50' of the Flex, and '66' of the Vintage 66, have nothing to do with the actual gauges - I guess the numbers are be related to years or something, as I think they are reissue picks, but it seems crazy that Dunlop doesn't clearly state the thickness on these Herco models. I wanted to get a definitive answer on the thickness of them all. I've did a bunch of searching and found varying results. I saw thickness numbers mentioned for the Flex series in a few results, but far less for the Vintage 66 series. I posted on TB regarding the accuracy of these numbers, and it's thought that these are reasonably accurate: Flex 75 'Heavy' (Silver): 1.01 Flex 50 (Gold): .65 Vintage 66 'Extra light' (White): .73 Vintage 66 'Light' (Gold): .84 Vintage 66 'Heavy' (Silver): .96 There is also the 'Holy Grail' which I'm guessing would be the same 1.01 as the Flex 75. I'm not sure whether or not this plays stiffer than the Flex 75 as I've seen comments suggesting it both is and isn't! I recently got a few of the Flex 75 Heavy (1.01mm), I played a song in a live setting on Sunday with one and whilst it's thicker & less flexible than I'm used to these days (my upper limit is normally .88 for Nylon or .73 for Tortex), it gave a nice clarity & authority without being too boomy. I was quite impressed with it, and I really like the raised dots & circle grip, which feels like a perfect place for the thumb. I've ordered some of the standard Gold Flex 50 (.65mm) for where something faster / more flexible is needed. I may try the Vintage 66 series, but I don't like that the raised dot grip surface is on one side only, with the other side also missing the circle grip of the Flex picks. Though I'm likely overthinking this, and suspect that the dots on one side & raised writing on the other offers decent enough grip anyway. I just thought these numbers would be a useful resource for anyone unsure about how thick the Herco picks actually are. I really think it's insane that Dunlop don't clearly mark out the actual thickness of these on the picks.

James bought some CDs from me, and was great to deal with. Thanks!